Hello:

I have just purchased a new barebone system.

Consist of:
-XP 2500+,
-256meg x 2 PC3200 DDRAM by COSAIR,
-ASUS A7N8X mobo,
-ThermalRight SLK-800U,
-Vantec *..to wake the dead* 80mm fan @ 84CFM,
-ThermalTake A-5000 case. Comes with 4 fans
-ThermalTake 480W Power Supply Unit

Ok... I plan to over clock.. blah, read all the post here *almost all of them*. Learned a great deal... Thank you all.

But.. here is one thing I just thought of.

My current PC is a HP custom built. It is a ASUS K7M Mobo + Slot A 750mhz T-bird CPU. (FYI--The BIOS for my current mobo is locked, I suppose it's a "safetly feature" of HP?)

Also, HP has already installed WIN ME on my current hard drive.

Question: Will there be a compatibility issue if I simply hook up my hard drive with WIN ME preinstalled by HP for K7M, onto the new ASUS A7N8X mobo?

Or, do I have to Reinstall every thing? Problem is with the reinstall option (which I hope I do not have to go thru) is that I DO NOT HAVE THE DAMN DISK! :( HP preinstalled it!

The new rig is on it's way and I hope I WILL NOT have to reinstall WIN ME. It is alot of hassle.

Please shed some light on this subject, thank you everyone.

you can just plug it right up, winME :*should*: plug-n'-play it and ask for drivers etc..when that's all done goto safe mode and delete/uninstall all the previous processor stuff..

OR you can try and do that in advance..boot safe mode, delete all the mobo-specific stuff, like HP labeled drivers, etc, though your computer will likely 'freeze' up cuz of missing drivers...so when you power down

Justin_b31

Ok, thank you for your input. I just got off the phone with a friend. He boast about Windows XP's performance. He will install a new one for me no charge. That is very nice of him.

However, I have worked hard to keep my WIN Me stable as a horse with 8 legs! It is safe, steady and Vcache nicely.

I have only 2 options. Option 1 is to do like you and most other who suggested... *boot to safe mode* --> delete the "ghost drivers".

Or option #2 GO XP...

Anyone that can shed another beam of light on this subject please feel free.

Thank you all

go into regedit

delete everything within

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum

this removes all device drivers from the registry.

shut down your machine and install the new mobo.

When you boot up with the new mobo installed windows will redetect every device. Most of those drivers will be found automatically since they are still on your hard drive. But many devices will not be findable because they have to do with your new mobo. So your goal is to keep pressing esc when it can't find a driver, so that you can get to the desktop so you can run the motherboard install CD.

also since you brought up XP, you can upgrade to XP, and supposedly, havn't used this..but its supposed to import all your stuff from ME to XP..minus the drivers though..hehe

Regedit would work wonder, but it won't do any good with Windows XP and Y2K Pro. The boot sector file dictates many hardware configurations. Chances are it will require you to format the drive before installation.

Have to do 10 of these a month.

i tried deleting that reg key johnoh suggested and it didn't work...had to format anyways....as a general rule for myself, if i'm changing mobo's...i format,change mobo and re-install windows on a freshly wiped out hard drive with no left over junk

Alright.

So far a few of you suggest me to do the "what can I loose" method. Since I am getting a new XP O/S from my friend right? :)

Suchs for me that I just started to copy all my stuff from Primary Master HD to the Slave drive. (backed alot of stuff into my Slave drive by the way...)

Justin mentioned the XP can "import" stuff from WIN ME.

Did he meant I still have to do that "Registry removing ENUM" step and then go forth and install XP?

My friend will install WIN XP. Will it do the trick of importing my WIN ME's settings, minus the drivers.

What do you all think?

On your slave drive, make sure it is in NTSF format and not FAT32. Or, you won't get anywhere from you XP O/S in NTSF format.

"Did he meant I still have to do that "Registry removing ENUM" step and then go forth and install XP?"

No, you do this just prior to installing the new mobo. Then winme reinstalls its device drivers at your next boot and you have a workable winme machine.

"On your slave drive, make sure it is in NTSF format and not FAT32. Or, you won't get anywhere from you XP O/S in NTSF format."

ok, now... how can I do the NTSF format? On my current HD?

Well, Windows XP and 2000 are running NTSF format. They cannot be run in FAT32. If your master is running the O/S in NTSF and the slave is in FAT32, they can't communicate.

Somehow, you have to find a way to backup your slave drive into CD's.

No you don't have to do anything special..

I know with Win2000 if you start in Windows98 put in the install CD for 2K and run the install from windows..all the user info is ported to the w2K installation. Since XP is a newer version of W2K than it should be the same.

No special registry editing etc..you can get a better idea by searching for XP updgrade deployment on google

Windows2000 runs on FAT32 just fine. Its XP that needs to be formatted to NTFS, and even then you can create a partition for the XP install, though you'll have to use partition magic to do dynamic partitioning..that is without FDISK

um.. as suggested by Real_Cool:

"Well, Windows XP and 2000 are running NTSF format. They cannot be run in FAT32. If your master is running the O/S in NTSF and the slave is in FAT32, they can't communicate.
Somehow, you have to find a way to backup your slave drive into CD's."

So, if I hook up my Primary Master, install XP. (which will format the C: drive itself anyways correct?)

Meanwhile leave my Primary Slave (D: and E:) as WIN ME's FAT32 untouch...

According to what I was told any info that has been stored inside the Primary Slave will not be recgonize by XP. Since XP is FAT and NTFS only.

**A friend of mine conclude and confirm that XP can read from FAT not FAT32. And I can only do that by using "partition magic"**

Well, what are my options now?

1.) get a CD BURNER and burn all that crap in there *save time, but waste money*

2.) partition magic the Primary Slave drive and then FORMAT it thru XP? How would option #2 work? I have no experience in XP and PC is coming on this Thrusday. I think I am going nuts over this FAT shxt

partition magic can reformat your second partition to fat without data loss. Keep in mind though FAT is limited to 2GB sizes..also, PT magic can convert to NTFS without dataloss* either..

* assumes you don't have any problems

XP will give you the option to repartition or format and will give you option to format in FAT or NTFS - when you install

so, bascially, I won't have to worry. I have read the Microsoft's Knowledge Base. It stated that..

WIN XP do support FAT and NTFS.

So all I have to do is leave my Primary Slave alone. Attach it thru the ATA cable as usual.

Go on with install XP on Primary Master. Then boot into XP. And go to my Primary Slave which is assigned Drive D: and E:

Copy and paste all the stuff from there to the Primary Master Drive C: *only 1 partition*.

Then finally, kiss the Slave drive's FAT 32 sectors good bye and format it into NTSF standard thru WIN XP.

Does that sounds correct now?

uh no. FAT is really fat16, XP doesn't recognize Fat32. You'll have to use PTM to convert the drive to NFTS or FAT, but remember FAT has a 2GB limitation.

Now you can do the XP install, when all said and done install PTM and convert the slave partition to NTFS and than copy your folders over

All your steps above are correct except the copy and paste from slave..this is where convert comes in

BUT DUDE.. I HAVE NO PARTITION MAGIC... What is my option then? (besides fork over a few more dollars and get Partition Magic)

I thought XP can convert?

here, read this.. I'm now lost as a dog in La La Land

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307881&Product=winxp

Quote: "You can use the convert command (Convert.exe) to convert an existing FAT or FAT32 volume to NTFS. Because this conversion retains all of your files (unlike a format operation), use Convert.exe when you want to keep existing files on your volumes intact. "

Is that right?

well glad you've done some homework.

Interesting..everyone reports XP works ONLY with NTFS, that link indicates otherwise..

Now I've only installed XP once on my computer and after 24 or less, I didn't like it and removed it. Come to think of it, I don't use NTFS for Windows 2000, I use Fat32 and I didn't reformat. So XP HAD to be installed on my FAT32 drive..

Now, go ahead install XP use the NTFS, I don't like it cuz if you use a bootcd (DOS) than none of your files are accesible on C:

I would leave the FAT32 -partition 2- alone, I don't think you'll have a problem..this is a 'just in case' you need some file in it and you are in DOS for whatever reason..I know XP works with it, because I have 2 partitions..my second being FAT32 also AND stored all my drivers, downloads, etc, and I KNOW I accessed that drive without changing anything - after all, my game patches/updates are stored there as well and going a day without playing ET is ... too much

MS web site is down right now, so I can't link any documentation for reference :(